stars on screen
Can’t stop the music: ‘The Voice’ returns for yet another encore
By Andrew Warren
TV Media
Can’t stop the music: A
long-running musical feud is
heating up yet again. This isn’t
some back-and-forth between
hip-hop artists or pop divas,
although there’s probably a few
of those brewing (aren’t there
always?) but a feud between the
two titans of musical television.
New seasons of both “The
Voice” and “American Idol”
are set to launch in the coming
days, and NBC’s “Voice” is first
out of the gate this year with
a Monday, Feb. 25, premiere. A
new batch of talented singers
hopes to impress the coaches
and earn a spot on one of their
teams. Unlike in “Idol” or other
similar shows, in “The Voice,”
the coaches don’t actually see
the melodious hopefuls before
deciding whether to invite them
onto their team — it really is all
about the voice.
This season’s group of
coaches should look pretty fa-
miliar to anyone who watched
last season, with only one
change: former “American Idol”
finalist and Academy Award
winner Jennifer Hudson has
bowed out of the job to work
on other projects, and her chair
has been taken over by fellow
Oscar-winner John Legend. Last
season’s other three coaches
— music superstars Adam
Levine, Blake Shelton and Kelly
Clarkson — haven’t gone any-
where, and neither has Carson
Daly (“Today”), who’s served as
the show’s host since the very
beginning.
Unlike other similar shows,
“The Voice” isn’t just a com-
petition between the hopeful
contestants — it’s also one be-
tween the coaches. Over the first
few weeks of the season, the
four giants of the music industry
assemble their teams of singers
based only on their voices, but
once the teams are all sorted
out a few weeks in, the Battle
Rounds begin.
It’s up to the coaches and
their advisers to mentor their
team and only keep the stron-
gest performers in the competi-
tion, because in the end there
can only be two winners — a
winning singer, who gets an
24 | Screentime
Adam Levine, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton star in “The Voice”
impressive lump sum of money
has, drawing critical acclaim
Sitcom Legend Ted Danson
and a lucrative recording con-
and a devoted fan base that’s
(“Cheers”) stars as Michael,
tract, and a winning coach who
eager to puzzle out what the
the eternal being in charge of
earns bragging rights over the
show’s next big plot twist will
The Good Place, while Jameela
other three. The 16th season of
be. The most recent season
Jamil (“Animals.”), William
“The Voice” premieres Monday,
wrapped up in January, with the Jackson Harper (“True Story,”
Feb. 25, on NBC.
next one expected as part of
2015) and Manny Jacinto (“Bad
NBC’s fall lineup.
Times at the El Royale,” 2018)
Staying in ‘Place’: There’s
It’s because of the twists
play Eleanor’s fellow recently
good news about “The Good
(there are some big ones!) that
deceased Good Place inhabit-
Place,” the NBC sitcom that
anyone discussing the show
ants. D’Arcy Carden (“Barry”)
somehow manages to be
needs to tiptoe around any
rounds out the main cast as
ludicrously funny while also
specifics, but here are the basics: Janet, an artificial intelligence
teaching some thoughtful philo- Kristen Bell (“Veronica Mars”)
charged with keeping The Good
sophical and ethical concepts:
stars as Eleanor Shellstrop, an
Place running smoothly.
it’s been renewed for another
incredibly selfish women who
“The Good Place” may be the
season.
dies and finds herself in “The
smartest comedy on broadcast
It’s a combination that prob-
Good Place” instead of “The
television, and both audiences
ably shouldn’t work, but for
Bad Place,” which is where she
and critics love it. Watch for the
three seasons it most definitely
really belongs.
fourth season next fall on NBC.
February 20, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
Penn’s pilot: Plenty of ac-
tors dabble in other lines of
work, but there aren’t very
many who can say that they’ve
been part of a president’s
administration. “Designated
Survivor” star Kal Penn has that
impressive line on his resume,
having served in the Obama
administration, but for the past
few years he’s been busy act-
ing, and his latest project was
recently picked up for a pilot
by NBC.
The as-yet-unnamed pilot
will both star and be co-written
by Penn. He’ll play a former
New York City councilor who
discovers a new lease on life
when he helps six recent immi-
grants who are striving for the
American Dream.
It’s heavy-sounding stuff, but
should it get picked up to series,
the new show will mark Penn’s
return to comedy after his stint in
“Designated Survivor.” His first
major TV role was as Dr. Lawrence
Kutner in “House,” but it was his
starring roles in the Harold and
Kumar movies that first cemented
his reputation as a comedic actor,
starting with 2004’s “Harold &
Kumar Go to White Castle.”
Of course, many pilots never
see the light of day as full se-
ries, but Kal Penn has a history
of success. Keep an ear to the
ground for this one as pilot sea-
son continues.